We were visiting my wife's family in Vermont which ends up being a large group, with most of her brothers and sisters, and their spouses and kids, and this year even several girlfriends of the kids. All told we were about thirty. Meals were split up with one or two people volunteering for each meal. New Year's Eve was my night. I was stumped at first as far as what to make, but the co-volunteer Eric (a foodie BIL) came up with the suggestion of top-your-own tacos. We actually went with tostadas, and made black beans, three different meat toppings, and about a dozen other topping options, with side dishes of Mexican-spiced rice, and homemade cole slaw. Logistically the meal worked well, although some people didn't realize that they were supposed to be able to pick up the tostada after they made it, and instead they buried it beneath a 2-inch deep mound of toppings. Also we forgot to put out the guacamole until after half the people had served themselves. Food wise, some parts of the meal worked better than others. The shredded chicken verde was good but would have been better with more of the tomatillo salsa, however the co-op closed early, and the normal grocery store had no green salsa. The beef/chorizo was good but could have used a bit more of something, Eric and I couldn't decide what it needed. The shrimp was a big hit, the only problem with it was it disappeared so fast, the recipe (as well as I remember it) for the shrimp is below. Chili-Lime Shrimp 2 lbs peeled uncooked shrimp (31-40 count -- cut into thirds) 10 cloves garlic (minced) 1 4oz can diced green chilies 2 limes chili powder canola oil Liberally cover raw shrimp with chili powder and the juice of 1 half of a lime, and let rest for 10 minutes. In small pan, heat oil over medium heat, add garlic and green chilies, until garlic is softened and fragrant. remove from heat. In large pan, heat oil over high heat, until it is smoking hot, add shrimp stirring occasionally to make sure all the shrimp are getting cooked, and none are burning, after about 2-3 minutes the shrimp should all be cooked, add the garlic and green chilies that you set aside, and the rest of the juice of the limes. Stir for about 1 more minute, and place in large bowl to serve. Overall the meal received rave reviews.

We went out to eat! Daddy had a French dip, Lola had well cooked salmon with sweet potato fries and slaw, Ben had chicken tenders with a cookie (ain't it fun to be young!), April had a club sandwich, I don't know what Mark got?, Susie and Tiff had fish tacos (I had them last Tuesday so I didn't want them again) barramundi, one had slaw on the other had red beans and rice, and I had chicken tenders. If it helps, yesterday I had, umm, actually I don't know what you call it, it was peach moonshine and passion fruit puree, with tajin on the rim. Kitty photobombed

Ooh ohh, I get to have leftovers from last night's dinner: Garlicky Chicken with Lemon-Anchovy Sauce (NYT). Omg, just divine. It's a Melissa Clark recipe with a 5-star rating and almost 11,000 votes. It's so quick and simple, how can it be so good with such depth of flavor? Mine looked just like the photo. Anchovies are really most amazing. I use fish sauce a lot in most of my savory dishes, but this was the first time I tossed 5 anchovy fillets into the pan with my chicken thighs. They're miraculous. And smashing the garlic resulted in sweet creamy garlic.

I seared three chicken breasts (I cut them in half) in the Dutch oven. Tossed in a large, diced, onion. Sprinkled with half a cup of taco seasoning. Added two cups of water. Lower heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced and chicken can be shredded. Add eight cups of enchilada sauce. Let all that simmer while you boil, drain and rinse your lasagna noodles and mix up the filling: 24 oz Ricotta, a tub of baby spinach, 4 cups of shredded colby/jack cheese (I don't like pre-shredded cheese and couldn't find blocks of "Mexican blend" to shred my own) . Ladle spoons of the enchilada sauce (without the meat - skim it off the top) to cover the bottom of the pan. Start layering your lasagna: noodles; meat sauce; filling; noodles; meat sauce; filling ... etc. This pan was four noodles wide and fit three layers of noodles. So eyeball three portions of the meat sauce and filling for each layer. Use the meat sauce for the layering and you should have quite a bit of the sauce left to pour over the top. Sprinkle with two more cups of shredded colby/jack, a can of sliced black olives and one bunch of chopped green onions. Bake at 350F for about an hour. Let rest while you make up a simple side salad of shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomato and sliced avocado. A dollop of sour cream and a dollop of salsa on top.